Man charged with kidnapping uses infant child as 'human shield'

LORAIN – A man who allegedly hit his fiancée on Saturday later barricaded himself in his house with her three young children.

Jose Sanchez, 35, was charged with resisting arrest, assault on a police officer, kidnapping and domestic violence at his house at 2630 Lexington Ave. in Lorain early Saturday morning.

The incident began on Saturday around 1:23 a.m. when police responded to a domestic violence call. The call came from Nelkis Coat, 29, who told police that her fiancée, Sanchez, was drunk and started yelling at her earlier in the evening. When she went to lock herself in an upstairs bathroom to get away from Sanchez, she told police he kicked down the door and hit her in the face.

As she tried to escape, Sanchez pulled her down the wood steps in their house and hit her again in the face and back, she told police.

Coat called 911 and after police arrived, she was able to leave the house to talk to them.

Police went to the house to talk to Sanchez and he refused to speak to them, instead locking his doors and securing himself inside with three children – a 7-year-old and 4-year-old who were Coat’s children and a 1-year-old who was the child of Coat and Sanchez - according to police.

Police made a perimeter around the house as Sanchez used a couch and a refrigerator to barricade himself inside before punching out a window and threatening police through the open frame. At one point, Sanchez held up his 1-year-old child in front of the window, “as if he was using her as a human shield,” according to the police report.

Police were able to break down the back door with a battering ram and found Sanchez, who fought police, throwing punches and even grabbing a bottle in an apparent attempt to arm himself, according to the report. After a struggle, police used a Taser on Sanchez and took him into custody.

Sanchez, who recently moved to Lorain with Coat, has a history of violent charges including aggravated assault, resisting arrest and battery on an officer, according to police.